'Beavis and Butt-head' return to MTV

Everyone’s favorite giggling, dim-witted boys are back in town, complete with the AC/DC and Metallica T-shirts they left with in the ’90s.

Beavis and Butt-head, the iconic animated characters from the mind of Mike Judge, have returned to the MTV airwaves just as immature as they ever were.

It’s been almost 15 years since the troublemakers last graced our television screens — with the original bout of shows airing from 1993-1997 — and from their antics two spin-offs emerged, “Daria” and “King of the Hill,” along with a feature-length film, “Beavis and Butt-head Do America,” thrown in there as well.

While originally the duo spent their time mocking music videos in a time when MTV actually played music videos, these days Beavis and Butt-head must find their amusement elsewhere with reality TV. The two take their usual seat on the sofa to mock such shows as MTV’s own “The Jersey Shore,” and “16 and Pregnant,” along with YouTube clips and UFC fights.

For their return, Judge has kept Beavis and Butt-head just as we left them: The somewhat-lovable man-childs are still the same age and at the same high school they attended those many years ago.

In turn, aside from the couch-laden snickering, Beavis and Butt-head will continue skipping school for their usual adventures as well. In this week’s return, the two find out that girls their age are all obsessed with the movie “Twilight” and they decide to try and become vampires and werewolves so that they can go out with said girls. In turn, they allow a homeless guy with hepatitis to bite them, mistaking him for an actual werewolf. You can only imagine what follows.

Judge has also managed to keep Beavis and Butt-head in the dark about the technology of the 21st century — the two are clueless as to what Twitter is and they are baffled by the notion that music videos can now be viewed on computers.

And that’s where the foreshadowing comes in. Are Beavis and Butt-head still relevant? In a day and age when anyone can voice their opinion on viral videos and dumb reality shows in an instance on Facebook and Twitter, and where shows such as “Talk Soup” and “Tosh.O” have emerged as clear front-runners on pop-culture commentary, will Beavis and Butt-head be able to survive among it all?

I think so. Beavis and Butt-head were the originators of the mock-commentary, and aside from their style being somewhat stale, I think it’s the characters that deserve the attention. And whether it be newbie teens getting their first dose of The Great Cornholio and “Hey Baby” pick-up lines or adults looking for a bit of nostalgia in their lives, I think Beavis and Butt-head will do America just as well as they used to.

3 fall shows to fill the void of those canceled

And so it begins — or should I say, ends. Over the last week, a crop of fall TV shows met their demise.

First went the sexy bunnies from NBC’s “The Playboy Club.”

Then “Free Agents,” the Hank Azaria-Kathryn Hahn workplace comedy got the ax from NBC.

From here, CW’s reality show “H8R” got canned. Not surprising for a show that involved celebrities such as Eva Longoria and Kim Kardashian confronting their biggest non-fans as to why they hate them and then trying to win them over.

Next, CBS’s “How to Be a Gentleman” starring Matt Dillon “stopped production” — which is essentially a cancellation — after their episode count dropped from 13 to 9, and was moved from Thursday to Saturday nights.

And finally, it was announced today that ABC’s first cancellation of the season would be the reboot of “Charlie’s Angels” after only four episodes.

Tough luck, eh? It’s a rough world out there. With the amount of money networks spend to produce new shows, they expect them to deliver. And when the ratings don’t go their way within a matter of weeks, away the shows shall go — quicker than you can change the channel on them.

Luckily for you, I have a solution or two...OK three, to fill the voids left on your DVR. A few shows that far exceeded their expectations, and that I should have included on my fall TV preview. Hey, we all make mistakes, right NBC?

Replace “The Playboy Club” or “Charlie’s Angels” with “Revenge”

“Revenge” is exactly that — a show about a young woman who heads to the Hamptons to enact revenge on the people who caused her father’s death, and in turn, ruined her family. Emily VanCamp, of “Everwood” fame, plays the part of the young woman leading a double life; she is only known as Emily Thorpe to the wealthy residents of the Hamptons, not Amanda Clarke, who they knew as a child.

Each week Thorpe gets rid of one of the people responsible for her father’s death in an ever-so-revengeful way — whether it be exposing an affair of a senator or causing best friends to turn on each other.

It’s a delightful little drama with the perfect amount of innocence that leaves you wanting more each week.

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“Revenge” airs Wednesdays at 10 p.m. on ABC

Replace “Free Agents” or “How to Be a Gentleman”
with “2 Broke Girls”

A laugh-out-loud comedy from the mind of Whitney Cummings. Now I bet you’re saying, doesn’t she have her own show this fall? Why, yes, she stars in “Whitney” over on NBC, but the Whitney writer has far exceeded the Whitney actress.

“2 Broke Girls” follows Max (Kat Dennings), a waitress in a NYC diner with a sassy attitude, and Caroline (Beth Behrs), a spoiled princess of a girl who comes to work at the diner after her father was caught in a Bernie Madofff-like Ponzi scandal and goes to jail, leaving Caroline with nothing.
Eventually the two become roommates and strive to open a bakery with Caroline’s business skills and Max’s knack for tasty cupcakes. Dennings and Behrs play off each other is great, and the comedy stylings are reminiscent of “Two and Half Men,” where sexual innuendoes and brass comedy fill the air.

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“2 Broke Girls” airs Mondays at 8:30 p.m. on CBS

Replace “H8R” with “Work of Art — The Next Great Artist”

From the mind of Sarah Jessica Parker, this reality show adds a bit of class to the reality world. After the first season’s brief run in the summer of 2010, “Work of Art” returned to Bravo on Wednesday and is as creative as ever.

The premise involves 14 artists — from painters to sculptors to performance artists — all vying for their own private art show at the famed Brooklyn Museum and a $100,000 prize. A gallery show is put on at the end of each week and, with the input of three judges, one person is then eliminated.

As kooky as some of the self-proclaimed artists are, the show is really about the art they produce. Each week the participants are given a theme, and it is their job to produce a piece of art in the medium of their choice. It’s not only interesting to see each artist bring out strengths within their forte, but also to see them step out of their comfort zone and produce an exquisite piece in a different medium they’re not used to. As the viewer, it’s intriguing to see how each artist interprets the idea and puts their own unique spin on things.

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“Work of Art” airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. on Bravo.

Spooktacular shows

It’s October... well, you know that ... and that means Halloween will be here before you know it. But before you start digging out your devil ears and witches capes, prepare to be spooked right in your own living room. These aren’t Halloween specials... these are a crop of horror happenings that will keep you on the edge of your seat well after your Halloween candy has gone stale. So rather than wait until the end of the month, sit back, grab a hold of someone near you and get ready to be scared straight through the end of the year. And don’t worry... I promise no poltergeists will drag you into the TV.

THE MOST GRUESOME
“Dexter” — Showtime — Sundays at 9 p.m.

By now most people at least know of Dexter Morgan — Miami Metro Homicide’s blood splatter analysist by day and vigilante serial killer by night. After last year’s somewhat demure season, “Dexter” returned in full force with last Sunday’s season six premiere.

This season Dexter runs into a series of faith-based murders committed by a professor (Edward James Olmos) and student (Colin Hanks) from a religious cult, with the first victim having his intestines replaced with snakes; in turn Dexter takes into question his own sense of faith and religion.

“The Walking Dead” — AMC — Sundays at 9 p.m.

Zombies — you either love ’em or hate ’em. With the critically acclaimed “The Walking Dead” it is hard not to love ’em. Season one’s short six-episode arc left viewers wanting much more, and after a year-long wait, they can finally rejoice.

We last left the group of zombie apocalypse survivors fleeing from the Center for Disease Control after a bomb went off inside. With the premiere episode of season two on Oct. 16, we find the survivors searching for higher ground. They find it by leaving Atlanta and heading for the countryside.

“American Horror Story” — FX — Wednesdays at 10 p.m.

As I stated in my fall TV preview, “American Horror Story” is a show to watch. And judging by Wednesday’s premiere, it may be one show you’ll need to watch in the daytime. It’s a creepy, frightful show from the creator of “Nip/Tuck” that pushes the boundaries, just as “Nip/Tuck” did, especially when it brought us the character of The Carver.

Here, a family looking for a fresh start moves into a haunted house filled with past residents — ghosts if you will — who were all doomed by the house itself; ergo, this new family is also doomed. If only they were smart enough to leave the house when the first ghastly ghoul showed up, but then we wouldn’t have a show on our hands.

FAMILY-FRIENDLY FRIGHTS
“Halloween Wars” — Food Network — Sundays at 9 p.m.

No need to whisk the kids out of the room for this one, as the only zombies and haunted houses on this show are made out of cake.

Food Network’s “Halloween Wars” brings together the country’s best cake decorators, sugar artists and pumpkin carvers to compete for a $50,000 grand prize. A four-part series, with the first installment airing last Sunday (it will be re-run this Sunday at 7 p.m.), “Halloween Wars” divvies up five expert cake makers, sugar blowers and pumpkin carvers into teams, one of each specialty on each, to create amazing works of art. An the end of each episode, one team is eliminated.

The pumpkin carvers are my favorite — the detail that the artist carves into any size pumpkin from ity-bitty mini ones to 300-pounders in a matter of minutes is just crazy. They really know how to bring a pumpkin to life. Add in sugar artists who can create glass hair strands for a witch with cake artists who sculpt buttercream into grim reapers and you’ve got yourself some great “Halloween Wars.”

“Once Upon a Time” — ABC — Sundays at 8 p.m. — Starts on Oct. 23

What if one day you found out Snow White and Prince Charming were your parents? Crazy right? Well that’s the premise of “Once Upon a Time,” a show that brings classic fairy tales to life in a modern-day setting as viewers travel to Storybrooke, Maine.

It’s a premise that is out there — Storybrooke is actually another universe where fairy tale characters look like your average joes but happen to not remember their true identities or their former lives — but if you can get past how unrealistic this show is, you might be in for a fun treat. With appearances by characters such as the Evil Queen, Jiminy Cricket and Rumpelstiltskin, along with actors Ginnifer Goodwin, Jennifer Morrison and Giancarlo Esposito, you might wish you were part of the fairy tale world yourself.

“The Secret Circle” — CW — Thursdays at 9 p.m.

After her mother dies in a car accident, a young girl, Cassie, returns to her mother’s hometown to live with her grandmother. While there she makes plenty of friends, who she soon finds out have all descended from witches — and it turns out, Cassie has too. They’ve been waiting for her to complete the sacred Secret Circle, but after Cassie finds an old spellbook of her mother’s in her childhood room, Cassie realizes she could be dealing with some dangerous and dark powers — some of which may have led to her mother’s not-so-accidental death.

“The Secret Circle” is the sister series of CW’s “The Vampire Diaries” to which I’ve heard is quite good. Both are helmed by horror writer Kevin Williamson (“Scream” “I Know What You Did Last Summer”), so you know you’re in for a surprise or two along the way.